He says many traditional universities are following pioneers like Royal Roads in offering online options for students—but those institutions need to commit to a quality online learning environment.

Here is an excerpt:

“‘We were seen as outcast mavericks that were potentially going to ruin the whole [academic] system if we were allowed to proceed. […] I think if you scour across Canada in general, you’d be pretty hard-pressed to find a strategic plan at a university that didn’t have online learning as a strategic pillar in their five-year plan.’ […]

“It’s true, you can do basic online learning and it can be cost-effective, ‘but then you haven’t put the systematic resources in play to create high-quality online learning,’ Dr. Grundy says.”